Date Night
by VectorCrocodileFangirl
Summary: /Heavy Duty x Tunnel Rat/ Shore leave from the Sea Titan usually means date night.


Shore leave from the Sea Titan is usually code name for date night. On a ship where most of the actual military members are primarily attached, and work comes before everything else, they would all go insane otherwise.

Heavy Duty likes this city a lot more than the last one. The previous city was bland, a copy-and-paste metropolis with no real interesting features. This one has a lot more character; there are more small businesses and happier people. He leans against a railing overlooking the harbour, sipping at a coffee bought from a local cafe, enjoying the ocean view as he watches ships (mostly personal vessels) dock and depart. One of the things he loves most about places like this is how peaceful everything is. Then again, he supposes that's probably because it's the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday. If it were the weekend-

"Hey, big guy!"

_Aaaand_ _there goes the peace_, he thinks as he cringes a little. The shouting is too loud for this quiet environment- then again, Tunnel Rat is often too loud for _any_ environment.

The explosives expert runs up to the heavy arms expert, jumping up onto the row of rails second highest from the ground. With Heavy Duty leaning forwards and Tunnel Rat that far off the ground, they're about the same height. The smaller man grins as he feels a gentle breeze on his face, then hops down from his perch.

"C'mon," he insists, tugging at the sleeve of Heavy Duty's jacket. It takes all of his willpower not to laugh out loud when he looks over and sees Tunnel Rat sporting an expression not unlike that of a pouting child.

"Where's the fire?" he asks, although he lets Tunnel Rat pull him away from the railing, only stopping momentarily to toss his empty coffee cup into the trash. "We've got all day." The explosives expert grins up at his date.

"If I let _you_ set the pace, we'll never get anything done," he replies simply. Heavy Duty just shakes his head fondly and lets his much smaller partner pull him along, although he shifts Tunnel Rat's grip from his sleeve to his hand. Neither of them have ever been to this city before as far as he knows, but the former street rat seems to have a pretty good idea of where he's going and Heavy Duty just lets him lead. He supposes all cities are fundamentally similar, anyway, and if there's one thing Tunnel Rat knows aside from explosives it's cities.

They walk through city streets at a pace set by the smaller man, passing through the downtown area filled with fancy little bistros and clothing boutiques. Eventually Tunnel Rat stops abruptly, nearly causing Heavy Duty to run directly into him, and sniffs the air.

"Heel, boy," the large man laughs. Tunnel Rat turns around effortlessly on his heel, gives him a glare that shifts quickly into a grin and turns again to look across the street. With something vaguely resembling a point, he indicates the small cafe sitting quietly on the corner, complete with plastic chairs and tables with umbrellas taking up most of the storefront to serve as outdoor seating. Faded awnings hang over each of the windows, but the inside of the small restaurant seems nice and bright from what he can see.

"We're stopping for breakfast," Tunnel Rat says, making it clear that it isn't a point meant to be discussed. "Right there."

They jaywalk quickly across the street, much to the chagrin of a driver who honks his horn twice as they dash in front of his car. Heavy Duty flashes him an apologetic look and raises his hand in thanks as they pass; Tunnel Rat acts like a particularly hyperactive child and he always feels like the half-embarrassed half-amused parent trailing behind him.

As they step inside of the cafe, the mixed scent of muffins still sitting in the oven and fresh coffee hit him like a slap to the face. Tunnel Rat strides straight up to the display case filled with baked goods, bending over at the waist to see the various treats.

"Can we maybe eat something for breakfast that's _not_ pure sugar for once?" Heavy Duty asks. Tunnel Rat just grins up at him.

"Not as long as I'm the one leading the way," he replies. The clerk- a petite young woman with brown ringlets and liberal sprinklings of freckles- makes her way over to the pair.

"Can I help you today, sirs?" she asks with carefully practised poise. Heavy Duty smiles at her as Tunnel Rat goes from bending over to crouching to get a better look at the pastries.

"I'll just have a coffee, two sugars and one milk, please," he says. He briefly wonders if he should be drinking so much coffee but quickly remembers how horrible the coffee aboard the Sea Titan is. The concerns are quickly vetoed. "What about you, Nick?"

Tunnel Rat and Heavy Duty are just about the only couple aboard the Sea Titan that could switch between using their code names and their real names whenever the situation called for it. Whenever they're out in public, they usually use their real names- some would consider that risky, but they've always found that Cobra agents are more likely to recognize them based on their code names.

"I'll have a cherry-cheese danish and a coffee, four sugars, three cream," he replies as Heavy Duty hauls him up by the back of his shirt. He's suspended in the air for a moment before the much larger man drops him back on his feet. Clearly trying not to seem too surprised by the strange pair, the girl gives a generic response and digs up a paper bag to shove Tunnel Rat's pastry into. As she hands him the bag and his coffee, Heavy Duty makes a strange face.

"That's _barely_ coffee," he says as they step out of the bakery, giving his traditional little apologetic wave to the cashier. "That's just sugar and cream in a cup."

Tunnel Rat sticks his tongue out at his boyfriend as they continue to walk down the street. With his hands full, he no longer has the ability to tug Heavy Duty along behind him, but he keeps his quick pace and trusts the other man to keep up. As he nibbles at his danish and sips at his coffee, Heavy Duty eventually manages to fall into step with him.

"So what's the plan, little buddy?" he asks. Tunnel Rat shrugs as half of his pastry disappears into his mouth. He tries to talk through it, but it doesn't quite work; he takes a moment to chew and swallow before responding.

"I need to stop by an electronics store to restock," he replies. "Other than that, nothing! We can just wander."

"Well, if we're just gonna wander, can we _slow down_?"

Tunnel Rat laughs and falls into a lazier stride; he feels less inclined to practically run around now that he's had a bit of a snack, anyway.

"Hey, I hear this city has a pretty neat amusement park," he grins, tossing his paper bag in a nearby trash can and looping his arm through Heavy Duty's. They receive a few stares from people passing by, but they're used to that; even when they don't get strange looks based simply on the fact that they're both men, they're such astounding visual opposites that people can't help but give them a second glance. Heavy Duty is tall beyond a reasonable threshold, dark skinned and bald with layer upon layer of muscle, while Tunnel Rat is small, lanky and very, very white with a mop of uncontrollable red hair. "Why don't we check it out?"

Heavy Duty returns the grin. He tries to remember the last time he went to an amusement park, but can't.

"Sounds like a plan."


End file.
